3 Secrets This Industry Will Make You Forget
I stared at the numbers on the screenshot. 1 million. Seven zeroes. It was a lot of zeroes. I never thought I’d see that many zeroes in my life. No on in my family had ever had that much money in their bank account before.
The crazy part is, the money wasn’t revenue. It was profit. After 1 year. PROFIT. If you read my book then you’ll know that we did not buy Rolex’s or new cars (we probably should have). We didn’t raise our 75K salaries at the time. Instead, we aimed the money at hiring amazing people and helping them provide for their families by working at Forrest.
Our first 12 months were a rocket ship that I will never forget.
We had clients handing us multi-six figure contracts left and right.
Honestly, it was dangerous because most creative businesses don’t start that way. It gave us a false sense of reality in many ways that we are now having to recover from.
But during that time we had so much favor, and had worked so hard to get good at what we do, and honestly it was our Kairos moment.
Your Kairos Moment
That’s basically when the sun, the moon, the stars, and Linkedin all align in such a way that everything you do turns to gold.
And we were having ours. I believe you will have yours too if you haven’t yet.
Fast forward six years and here’s the truth…
Not every year has been like year one. We’ve made a lot of money, but we have also lost a lot.
We’ve invested a lot.
We’ve lost a lot of sleep.
We’ve earned our gray hairs and our crow’s feet.
Being creative for a living is maybe the toughest job on earth. I jokingly said recently that “I wouldn’t wish this business on my worst enemy.”
That’s not entirely true... but hey, I do have my days.
I think, for me, the thing that’s the hardest is looking back at how the business has changed me. How it’s changed my thinking. How the numbers and the stress and the payroll have caused me to forget truths that hold immense power for people like us. If I were writing a letter to little, 7 year old Brandon, these are the three things I would remind him of.
I’d encourage him to not forget these things, especially when the work gets hard.
3 Power-Secrets of Being Creative
If you can create a thing, you can create ANYTHING.
Are you a web designer? Then you can design a business. Are you a photogapher? Then you can art direct a clothing line and start your own. Are you a writer? You can become a NYT bestseller. If you can create a thing, you can create ANYTHING. Creatives hold the power to create the world around them. The hard time in this industry will make you forget that. DON’T let that happen!
You’re smarter than the clients or employers hiring you.
Heck, if they knew what you knew they wouldn’t need to call you. You KNOW what you are doing, in fact, most of the time you know so much because you have immersed yourself in your craft. The downard pressure on your pricing and your time and the rise of AI have made you feel worthless at times. Dumb. Not needed. NOT VALUABLE. This could not be further from the truth. AI slop will soon swallow our feeds and attention like a black cloud the likes of which there is no escape from. Human creativity will and is becoming the most valuable power on the planet. Those who believe it will step into all that it holds to yield for them and their families.
Delusion is your greatest asset. If you read the headlines I share in my newsletter (and you should) then I can totally see why this could be a moment to freak out. To play it safe. Dumb everything down. Lower your prices. But the thing that most creatives forget over time is that our delusion is the super power our dreams are powered by. I call it, “holy naivity” when you’re so clueless about your own limitations that you just FREAKING GO for it. It’s this same energy that launches creatives and their careers. If you lose this, you will end up going with the sad, depressed, play-it-safe flow that everyone else is caught in.
No matter where you are right now in your career, remember these secrets. You might be leading a big agency, or freelancing on your own. They hold the same power for all creatives. Don’t let the industry, the business, the numbers, and the tough times pull you down to a place where you forget that you were designed specifically for a moment like this. AI is not your enemy. The market is not your enemy. Your worst enemy always has been, and will always be YOU.
Helping others remember these truths is how we Save The Creatives®. If this resonates with you, please share with your community, or a friend who is going through it!
For the love of of humanity,
Your Chief Creative Officer…
BT
